Whether to make a substitution had been weighing on Derek Su's mind.
It was three or four in the morning. Stella had already curled up in his arms and fallen asleep, but Derek Su could not sleep at all.
Looking down at her pretty face, he could not resist reaching out and pinching her plump, baby-soft cheek, which seemed full of collagen.
Hmm... On second thought, it probably was not collagen. Only carbon-based lifeforms had that.
Whatever it was, her cheek felt wonderful. Whenever he pinched it, the girl would purse her lips, so she could clearly feel what he was doing. Perhaps because she felt completely safe in his room, however, she showed no sign of waking.
Derek Su pulled over a pillow and carefully placed it beneath Stella's head. Then he quietly got up and put on a jacket.
The difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures in this world was considerable. Even summer nights could be quite cold.
It was already autumn, and the temperature at night was approaching freezing. Tianyuan City was still considered a city with a relatively mild climate, but according to the weather forecast, nighttime temperatures in some cities had already fallen more than ten degrees below zero. Anyone who failed to dress warmly could easily catch a cold, and with the provincial track drawing near, getting sick would be disastrous.
He left the room to clear his head, hoping the cold night air would help him think.
He needed to decide who would compete in the second stage of the provincial track.
However, as soon as he reached the first floor, he heard a series of muffled thuds coming from the training ground behind the club.
"What's that noise?" Derek Su frowned. Could there be a thief in the club?
The buildings surrounding the club had already been demolished by Longteng Group, and construction on the new club facilities was underway. Large quantities of building materials were stacked near the construction site, many of them quite valuable. A thief could make a tidy profit by stealing and reselling them.
"Let's see who has the nerve to steal from the Stella Club!"
Derek Su narrowed his eyes, pressed himself against the wall, and crept suspiciously toward the training ground.
By the faint moonlight, he soon spotted a figure in a corner of the training ground, far from everyone's rooms. He could not tell what the person was doing. There was a pile of construction steel nearby, and the figure kept bending over as though stuffing the metal into a sack. The distance made it difficult to see clearly.
Still, Derek Su was already convinced that the person was a thief.
"Well, well. You really do have the nerve to steal from the Stella Club!"
He looked around, picked up a broom leaning against the courtyard wall, and tiptoed toward the figure. Once he decided he was within striking distance, a cold gleam flashed through his eyes and he charged toward the corner.
"You there, thief! Taste my sword!"
As soon as he shouted, his "sword" shot forward, jabbing the thief in the backside.
The thief clearly had not expected to be ambushed from behind and let out a terrified scream.
That voice was far too familiar.
Derek Su withdrew his "sword." His fingers went slack, and the broom clattered to the ground.
He stared at the girl clutching her backside, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Purple Lightning?! What are you doing here?"
...
That was right. The suspicious figure making strange noises beside the pile of steel in the middle of the night was none other than Purple Lightning.
Derek Su had mistaken her for a thief and ambushed her backside.
A little while later, Derek Su and Purple Lightning sat together on the steps beside the training ground, his face full of embarrassment.
The girl beside him kept her head lowered, gently biting her red lip with both arms wrapped around her knees. Her amethyst eyes were hidden beneath her tousled silver-gray hair, but the tips of her exposed ears had already turned red.
"Sorry, Purple Lightning. I thought someone was stealing from us." Derek Su scratched his head and broke the silence in an attempt to ease the awkwardness. "But what are you doing out here training in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
"Training," Purple Lightning murmured, her voice barely louder than a mosquito.
"It's pitch-black out here. What are you training?"
Derek Su glanced toward the spot where Purple Lightning had been standing.
A thick cylindrical post had been erected there.
It appeared to have been made by binding several steel beams together, with a truck tire wrapped around the outside.
The muffled thuds had been coming from that post.
"Impact Resistance..." Purple Lightning whispered. "Impact Resistance and Stability..."
Derek Su understood. "Were you ramming into that post? Or hitting it?"
Purple Lightning glanced cautiously at him before lowering her head again.
"Ramming into it... Um, did I wake you, Master? I'm sorry. Next time, I'll move the post over to the docks. I didn't think it would still disturb you when it was this far from the dorms."
She clasped her hands tightly together, looking nervous and helpless, as though she was afraid Derek Su would scold her.
Purple Lightning's stats appeared before his eyes.
She did not have any Modules equipped at the moment.
Her Impact Resistance was 51, and her Stability was 58.2. Compared to before, her Impact Resistance had increased by 1 point and her Stability by 1.2 points. Achieving that much improvement in only a month was already quite impressive.
Then he noticed the obvious impact marks on the post.
"Don't tell me you've been skipping sleep and coming here to ram into this post every night."
Purple Lightning kept her head down without answering.
Her silence was answer enough.
Derek Su had arranged training programs for every Mecha Girl, but none of those programs included nighttime training. They generally occupied either a morning or an afternoon. Someone as lazy as Tunbao sometimes trained for only two hours, though everyone eventually discovered that she practiced on her own in her bedroom. She simply preferred doing things at her own pace.
Purple Lightning trained harder than anyone. She always added another three hours to her schedule, and sometimes trained for the entire day. During that period, she had often looked exhausted in the mornings. Derek Su had assumed it was because she trained too much during the day, but now the mystery was finally solved.
Purple Lightning had been training day and night, stopping only to eat.
She was probably sleeping no more than four or five hours.
Even a Mecha Girl could not endure that level of strain indefinitely. Nutrient solutions could restore depleted Endurance, but they could not relieve mental exhaustion. The best cure for that was simply getting enough sleep.
Derek Su stared at Purple Lightning for a long time, but he could not bring himself to reprimand her. In the end, he sighed.
"How long have you been pushing yourself like this?"
"About two months... I was very tired at first, but I eventually got used to it."
Purple Lightning thought back before continuing.
"I've grown too comfortable. Back when I raced underground, there were times when I had no chance to sleep. Even when I did, the pain kept me awake. Now I have a home, and I have everyone's support, including yours, Master. That means I have even less reason to let you down. I can't afford to slack off. I need to spend as much time as possible improving myself."
She raised her head and fixed her amethyst eyes firmly on Derek Su.
"Master, I'll win the Panlong Mountain Circuit championship for you. No matter what difficulties I face or who stands in our way... I know I'll be facing all kinds of powerful competitors, but I'm not afraid."
Derek Su looked at Purple Lightning's resolute face.
He had originally planned to discuss replacing her with Imperial Scale.
Now he could not bring himself to say it.
Black Fortress was undoubtedly a troublesome opponent. If they encountered her, Purple Lightning would be in serious danger.
However, if they timed Purple Lightning's special skill properly, Black Fortress would be nothing to fear. Everything else would depend on Derek Su's skill as her pilot.
The downhill track was filled with countless turns and obstacles. They would have to avoid danger without sacrificing speed.
That challenge applied to every Mecha Girl and pilot, not only him and Purple Lightning.
Putting in Imperial Scale would be the standard way to play it safe. She could not reach the absolute limit of speed, but she offered near-total security. At the same time, if something unexpected happened, there would be little chance of turning the situation around.
He had considered it because he was afraid Purple Lightning would get hurt. He was afraid she would be unable to finish the race.
But Purple Lightning herself was not afraid.
So what was he, the Track Emperor, afraid of?
Was his purpose not to use his exceptional skill to compensate for a Mecha Girl's weaknesses?
Derek Su smiled, the weight in his heart finally lifting.
"I believe in you, Purple Lightning."
He looked directly into her eyes, his gaze filled with trust and encouragement.
"I've gathered some information on our opponents. Since neither of us can sleep, let's study it together.
As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."
Purple Lightning's eyes shone as she nodded firmly.
"Mm!"
...
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